Cuban fires Avery Johnson after playoff loss

Three playoff disappointments, coupled with a slow drift away from his players and owner Mark Cuban, led to the end of his three-plus-year tenure with the Mavericks.

Johnson told ESPN that he held no animosity toward the Mavericks for relieving him of the final three years of his contract.

"More than anything, I knew that after this year we were probably going in a different direction," Johnson said. "It's probably just something that needed to be done. It's not a separation or split or situation where I've been removed from head coaching duties that is a bitter situation. It's nothing like this.

"This was something that needed to happen. It happened. We're all going to go our separate ways. There's no animosity, no bitterness, nothing. We all still really care about each other. It was just time to go in a different direction."

Johnson was in The Woodlands with his family, tending to an emergency. He's scheduled to speak to the media today in Dallas.

Johnson, who took over the Mavericks' coaching job with 18 games left in the 2004-05 season, was the subject of strong speculation late in the regular season and during the first-round playoff loss to New Orleans.

Several curious comments and actions preceded Johnson's dismissal. He had a loud outburst with Cuban after a game in March, a confrontation that was audible to staff members throughout the Mavericks' offices.

Early in the playoffs, Johnson took full responsibility for his team's missed free throws and other physical errors, a thinly veiled criticism of the players.

Then, on Monday, after Johnson canceled a practice, the players decided to practice on their own, which angered Johnson.

On Wednesday, players cleaned out their lockers and voiced their support for Johnson, while bracing for what certainly will be other sweeping changes in the locker room.

"It really hasn't sunk in yet," Jason Terry said. "He's been our leader. He's the one who made this whole thing go. Without him, we're pretty much searching. He took this franchise beyond where it's been."

Johnson had a 194-70 (.735 percentage) record during the regular season. The Mavericks were 23-24 in the playoffs under his watch.

Johnson was named coach of the year in 2006 and took the Mavericks to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. The Mavericks went up 2-0 before Miami won four straight to take the series.

In 2007, the Mavericks became the first No. 1 seed to lose in the first round of the playoffs in the best-of-seven format.

Those playoff heartbreaks, in addition to the disappointment against New Orleans, led to Johnson's dismissal.